The Rotaract Club of the American National College (ANC) has partnered with the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute (HARTI) to boost domestic agriculture, foster economic growth, and promote sustainability.

The initiative, named ‘Ran Goyama,’ focuses on Sustainable Development Goal No 8 (SDG8), ‘Decent work and economic growth,’ sought to re-cultivate the abandoned paddy fields in ‘Jayaweeragoda Yaya’ of the Seethawaka Divisional Secretariat Division.

The Rotaract Club of ANC made a significant financial contribution towards the purchase of seed paddy. HARTI, in line with SDG8, has implemented a project titled ‘Participatory Conservation and Productivity Improvement of Paddy-based Ecosystem in Low Country Wet zone’ through which the institute engages with local farming communities to ensure decent and voluntary participation in paddy farming, thereby improving the economic status of their households while contributing to the preservation of a long-neglected ecosystem.

HARTI, accordingly, provided guidance and coordination to ensure that agricultural practices followed by farmers are sustainable and environmentally friendly.

The partnership grew out of shared concerns regarding the abandonment of paddy land for technical and non-technical leading to serious socio-economic and environmental problems, especially in the low country wet zone.

‘From the ecological point of view, preserving this ecosystem, which had been abandoned for almost half a century, is of special importance,’ said Rotaractor Odrini Weerakkody of American National College.

‘During the Covid-19 pandemic, people living in suburban areas had to pay significantly higher prices for food items due to their dependence on long food chains that were disrupted during the pandemic. Therefore, we recognised the importance of promoting local food production and shorten food miles and lead to local self-sufficiency,’ she added.

Weerakkody also pointed out that ‘abandoned paddies are often misused for waste disposal, leading to poor drainage, dengue transmission and other problems.’

‘Frequent floods and overflowing canals have made life difficult. Data shows that in Colombo district alone, 181 Grama Niladhari Divisions (GNDs) subject to floods and canals are overflowing in 146 GNDs. Paddy lands, classified as shallow wetlands according to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, have the capacity to hold excess rainwater, but the problems have directly and indirectly been caused by the abandonment of those paddies.’

An additional benefit of the project is to develop the entrepreneurial capacity of the local people. Attracting youth to agriculture, which is a missing sector in the current context, is of utmost importance to utilize available resources to achieve economic productivity through this labour-intensive sector.

By contributing to the sowing of paddy fields that had been abandoned for a long time, this initiative has aimed not only at food production but also at long-term sustainability. The use of locally sourced seed paddy ‘Rath El’ also ensures that the agricultural output is adapted to the local climate and soil conditions, reducing the need for chemical interventions and promoting a greener approach to farming. The project has indeed acted as a catalyst for community cohesion and environmental respect, providing a stellar example of how economic activities can be aligned with environmental conservation.

Moreover, the initiative has fostered a spirit of cooperation among local people to share resources to achieve a socio-cultural goal of preserving the neglected and increasingly disappearing cultural norms associated with rice farming.

Agriculture Research and Production Assistant, Lalani Suraweera, who oversees the Jayaweeragoda Grama Niladhari Division, was full of praise for the initiative taken by the Rotaract Club of the ANC.

‘I am immensely grateful to these children who came forward to support farmers, especially at a time when youth are moving out of paddy cultivation. The farmer had spent a lot of money to prepare around 20 acres of paddy land that had been abandoned for almost 50 years. The members of the Rotaract Club helped them purchase the seed paddy to grow the traditional Rath El variety.  The students took the trouble to visit the area, watch the entire process, beginning from land preparation, and learn from the farmers themselves. The Department of Agrarian Development and the Jayaweeragoda Farmer Organisation are highly appreciative of their initiative and also the support extended by the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute.’

The success of the initiative is already visible. Farmers are enjoying the beauty of the Rath El plants swaying in the wind and with time aim to establish a seed-paddy production centre to cater to the needs of the people in the surrounding areas.